Chapter 81 - 81

Words : 1755 Updated : Sep 12th, 2025

"I see you couldn't stay away~." Eve said as she watched Adam walk into the bar. "What can I say? You are a fantastic conversation partner." He smiled. "Oh I'm fantastic at a great many things, honey. I assure you." She walked over to the counter where Adam had just sat down. "What can I get for you?" "I'm thinking a red wine, no food, I already ate, so just something to wind down the night on." "I can do that for you." She said as she turned around to grab a bottle. The bar was quieter today. There was a man at the piano playing some relaxing songs but no stage presence from a band. As Adam had learned, this was not a piano bar. Or rather, it was not a piano bar full time. He had seen a sign outside the front door that led him to believe it was a piano bar, but it regularly puts on shows like the one he had walked in on last time. Not that he minded either way, but his misconception on the topic was cleared. There was no guard outside this time either, nor was there a black suited man standing at the stairway entrance to the second floor, likely the head of The Guild was not here right now. Not that it mattered much to Adam, but it was of note. He had also noticed on his way over the same robed figures a third time. The Pestilence cultists. He had every intention of asking Eve about them, but if he had forgotten, seeing them walking around gave him a clear reminder. "I think you will find this one to your tastes.~" Eve said as she placed a glass of red wine in front of Adam. Adam took it and sipped at it. It was very smooth, perfect for what he wanted. "How do you do it?" Adam asked, curiously. "Do what, honey?" "Be such a perfect bartender? I mean you have no mouth, nor any taste buds. You can't even smell, so how do you pick such fantastic choices?" Eve paused for a moment, perhaps thinking, perhaps smiling to herself. Not that such a thing would be shown on her metallic face. "It's quite simple really." She said as she picked up a bottle of liquor from the wall. "Bartending is just a type of chemistry, you know the mixtures you can replicate a perfect drink every time, selection for clients comes from experience." She gently put the bottle back and turned back to Adam again. "Besides, it's hard to mess up when all of the drinks I have available are of the highest quality." Adam chuckled. "Fair enough." He smiled and sipped at his wine for a moment as his eyes drifted off to look at the piano player. "I'm heading out tomorrow to hit up what is likely a post war FOB, though the inhabitants, I expect, are all dead. I've heard all that is left are robots and sentries." "Well, it certainly sounds like your day tomorrow will be thrilling." "Certainly." He chuckled. "I'm curious, what do you do on your days off? I assume you have days off since you work for a living." "Depends what I'm in the mood for~. I read, tinker, explore, people watch…" She then leaned in a bit over the counter to get closer to Adam. "And sometimes I look for handsome men to spend a little time with~" "You are refreshingly forward, you know that right?" Adam said jovially. Eve leaned back again. "I like to think it's one of my better traits." Adam paused for a few moments as he sipped at the wine before speaking again. "I was curious… Do you happen to know anything about the Four Horsemen?" Adam probed. Eve didn't respond right away, waiting a couple moments before she finally spoke up. "Yes, I do. Being a bartender means all sorts of information gets passed around near me. Why do you want to know?" She asked, almost suspiciously. "Well quite frankly, I know they are dangerous groups in this area but I don't have any more information on them. I'm also new in town and asking you seemed like a safe bet." Eve sighed. "I can understand that, but be careful, not everyone enjoys speaking about such dreary topics." Adam nodded. "Well where to begin? You said you don't know anything?" "Yeah, I'm pretty cut off from news until recently so I'm still trying to piece together what's going on in the area." "Well let's see…" She paused as she put her claw on her chin before continuing. "From what I know War is the man who started all the monikers, he actually calls himself War, if you believe that." She said with a soft condescending chuckle. "He goes around absorbing all the other ne'er do wells in the area under his command, not much more than a band of thugs if you ask me." She paused. "But he and his people don't usually go around raiding or killing without cause, so far they haven't started anything but I know that will change. Power changes men, it's bound to happen. If you are curious about his reasoning, you can tune in on the radio, one of his cronies has a station dedicated to his diatribes. Perfectly boring if you ask me, but I suppose everyone's got a kink or two~" She then paused for a moment as another patron came over to the bar and paid their tab. She disengaged from the conversation with Adam to check out the customer. Meanwhile Adam turned to watch the piano player. It was interesting. When the singer was here the entire room was focused on her performance. But now, with the piano player alone, it was just a nice ambiance for some light conversation among the patrons. Despite the world having ended the atmosphere certainly felt classy and he did really like this place. It might actually be his favorite venue in Midway, though, of course, he still had so much more to see. Who knows what interesting places Midway could have? "Sorry about that." Eve said as she walked back over. "No problem, work comes first." Adam grinned. "Certainly, but I'd much rather be talking to you~" Eve let off a single low laugh before continuing. "Anyway where was I?" "You were telling me about War's radio station." Adam informed, casually. "Oh yes, you are right. Well anyway, there's not much more to say on the topic. The radio station speaks about change and how it's inevitable, but it's nothing more than hot air, there's no real substance. But he's situated in the north of the city blocking the way to Milwaukee, as if there was a reason to go there." She said jokingly. "Then there's Famine. This one is brief, ghouls." She said succinctly. "Its a wall of ghouls that blocks nearly every exit heading east, and I'm not talking our misshapen friends living in their own town nearby, I'm talking about the dangerous ones, who have lost all sense of reason and decorum~" This gave adam pause, he might have actually run into that already. When he was escaping through the sewers to escape the super mutants who had stumbled upon him while he was in the car factory, he walked into what could only be described as a hoard or ghouls. When he pieced it all together, he had certainly gone much further east than he had intended. The factory was already to the east of Naper and the sewers took him further. If that was just the tip of a spear… "Do they have a leader? It's all ferals?" Adam asked curiously. "No one knows." She said with a shrug. "A couple of intrepid ghouls went to check it out but said it was just jam packed with ferals as far as the eye could see, if there was a leader they didn't stand out, and no one knows why they are gathering either." "What about Pestilence?" Adam asked, wanting to know about those robed men he saw earlier. "Ah, well, unlike War, Pestilence… or rather, the people who work for them do not appreciate the term. So try not to call them that if you ever see one. But they are… a cult." She said after a moment. "I had a friend tell me that same thing." Adam chuckled. "Well they are right." She said, leaning on the bar now. "Their beliefs are just as crazy as War's if you ask me, something something salvation, but I don't trust a man who goes around in dark purple robes like they are from some strange monastery. Then again, I don't really trust anyone so~. But suffice it to say they occupy much of the south and are currently not letting anyone through their territory." "And Death?" "Ah, well now Death is interesting.~" She said with a bit of sadistic joy in her tone. "No one knows who or what death is. 'Death is a bullet to the head from nowhere, Death is a green mist that rolls over your town and kills its inhabitants, Death is explosions dropped from the sky, Death is the pale grey that comes out from the dark.' No one really knows what Death is. Quite frankly it's something of Chicago's boogeyman. If someone dies in an unexpected and unknown way, it's probably going to be attributed to Death. If you ask me I think people just got the Four Horseman moniker so much in their heads that they went searching for a fourth threat to nickname. It's nothing but hearsay and rumors, I wouldn't put too much stock into it if I were you." "Wow… well thank you Eve, you were a great help." "I'm glad to be of service, though, rather than talking about something so droll as murderers and madmen I'd rather talk about something far more interesting… you." Adam chuckled and smiled. "Well, I suppose it's only fair I answer some of your questions since you answered mine. Feel free to ask." He said before taking another sip of his wine. "Wonderful. Then tell me, how big are you?~"

Chapter 81 - 81

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